Moving Down Under, Need Advice

[Kuayara]

Hey everyone,

I'll be moving from the US to Brisbane, Australia in a few months for graduate work. I know that their gun laws are rather different down there and was hoping someone could walk me through how to go about getting a gun license/ getting my rifle shipped. I checked and am happy that my Ruger Precision Rifle is legal for use in Queensland, but I cant figure out what steps I need to take. As far as I can tell I need to register with a gun club and take a safety course and then apply for a license and then get my rifle shipped? But is it even possible to get a license if I'm not a citizen, but on a student/work visa? Also if anyone knows a good range/club near Brisbane I would appreciate it.

 

[bogeybrown]

Clearlight is one of our members from down under. We have several, but he comes to mind first for me. Also, I think RoterJager may be as well. Check with them to see what info they may have. Just a wild-assed guess, but I'd be pleasantly surprised if you could obtain the necessary permits as a non citizen.

Worst case, the Aussies are some of the nicest folks I've ever met, so even if you can't bring your own you're likely to find someone to share a rifle with you. It's like a whole island of rednecks. Be prepared for some pretty draconian DUI laws and cigarette prices though.

 

[Mormegil87]

Clearlight is one of our members from down under. We have several, but he comes to mind first for me. Also, I think RoterJager may be as well. Check with them to see what info they may have. Just a wild-assed guess, but I'd be pleasantly surprised if you could obtain the necessary permits as a non citizen.

Worst case, the Aussies are some of the nicest folks I've ever met, so even if you can't bring your own you're likely to find someone to share a rifle with you. It's like a whole island of rednecks. Be prepared for some pretty draconian DUI laws and cigarette prices though.

Sorry I'm from Wisconsin.

 

[bogeybrown]

Sorry I'm from Wisconsin.

Haha, sorry buddy. I was going from memory from a thread a ways back. I'll have to find it and see who I confused you with.

 

[bogeybrown]

It obviously wasn't Roterjager, it was Rotormate I was thinking of. At least the usernames are somewhat similar. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[craigos]

Screw that - i was born in Oz and moved to the USA 20 years ago and became a US citizen 4 years ago. Good luck trying to own a firearm in Oz - you need to satisfy a residency period (12 months likely) , you need to sign up and wait to take a 5 day class (you do in Tasmania) - waiting time is 12-24 months, then you must get a license (like a drivers license) and you must allow for police offices to randomly show up at your house and you must let them in to inspect.

 

[pitdog85]

hey mate I live in queensland, not in Brisbane though. I don't know what the laws are in regards to non citizens but my gut feeling is it wont be an easy process for you, as stated above firearms laws here are a joke you will feel like your in a communist country after coming from the US with your freedom. The process of getting a licence and getting the permit to acquire a weapon etc cool down and waiting periods took about 6 months for me and I'm born and bred here. If you type in queensland firearms laws into google you will get the queensland police website which is where most of the info is but good luck trying to decipher the government's "rules" it is all worded so the average person cant understand it properly.

You are correct in that you need a "genuine" reason to have a firearm here as it is considered a privilege and not a right which the government can take off you at any time. A genuine reason is either knowing someone who owns a property larger than approx 40acres from memory to hunt on or being a member of a gun/target club. Unless you are planning to live here for a while id say it will be easiest for you to link up with some locals and borrow their firearms.

 

[Simia Dei]

I'd have a read of this page mate https://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/weaponsLicensing/ and if you've still got questions, shoot them an email. Queensland gun laws are slightly more relaxed than where I am (NSW - we can't even have folding stocks here, and every fucking range won't let me shoot my 300 norma).

There is information here https://www.border.gov.au/Busi/Impo/Proh/Firearms-and-weapons regarding firearms importation. You may still be able to do it, or have a gun shop here import it for you and hold it until you have all the required permissions. Regarding your "genuine reason", mine is simply a stalking permit for hunting deer in Victoria, costs me $80 something a year and that's enough for me to be able to be licensed, and I don't even live in Vic.

Here's a brief overview of the laws here http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliam...ry/FlagPost/2012/December/Australian_gun_laws They've been slightly updated in some states since a recent working group to "update the current policies to align with the advances in technology". (To put this into perspective, the politicians here tried to outlaw the lever action shotgun, not particularly "new" technology...)

I hope this helps mate.